Google likely to launch Snapchat ‘Discover’ competitor 

Looks like everyone is after Snapchat. After Facebook-owned Instagram ‘copied’ several of its features, now Google is likely to launch a competitor to Snapchat’s ‘Discover’ feature, the media reported.

Read also:Paytm planning its own mobile messaging app

Snapchat:

• Snapchat ‘Discover’ was first introduced in January 2015.
• It is a section of the app that lets news partners distribute video, image and text collections that remain accessible for 24 hours.

Google:

• Google is developing a technology that would allow news publishers to build a news service that is similar to Snapchat ‘Discover’, by making mini-magazine of slides that users could swipe one-by-one on their smartphones, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
• “We don’t have anything to announce at the moment but look forward to sharing more soon,” a Google representative was quoted by tech website CNET.
• Google had held informal dialogue with Snap Inc, the parent company of popular messaging app Snapchat.
• Also,reportedly offered $30 billion to buy Snap Inc in 2016.
• Snap’s CEO Evan Spiegel, who is widely considered as being independent.
• Apparently did not show interest in selling his firm to Google or anybody else.
• Spiegel also values running Snap in Southern California and outside of Silicon Valley, where Alphabet – Google’s parent company is headquartered.
• Earlier, in 2013, Google was rumoured to have been tried to acquire Snapchat for $4 billion.
• After Spiegel refused an offer from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
• Snap Inc is set to announce earnings report next week.
• Its second since going public at $17 just four months ago.

Read also:Google blocks ‘Lipizzan’ Android spyware